“We’ll see,” Meri said.
Chapter Five
Thorn was off at work. Mom was at the hospital with Lilith. It was just me, Meri, and Laney at home.
I was bored.
Not only that, but I was worried about Lilith. Mom had texted to say that she was doing all right and that they had her sedated and resting comfortably.
While that was good news, it wasn’t good enough for me. I had to figure out what had happened to her and fix it. I knew my mom was busy, so I texted my father.
Are the other Aunties as bad as Lilith? I sent.
No, he texted back.
So, it was probably a direct attack? I asked.
Looks that way, he answered.
I need to talk to the dead woman. I held my breath before I sent the message, but I eventually found the courage to hit send.
I’ll be right there, was his response.
Good old Dad. Not many witches, other than Lilith, were as comfortable with darker magic like my father. He’d danced with it close enough that it had almost taken him in the past, so he had unique skills when it came to the left-hand path.
While I was waiting for my father to get to Hangman’s House, I strapped Laney into her baby sling and headed out into the front yard.
“What are you doing?” Meri asked as he followed me out the front door.
“Dad’s coming over to help me get in touch with this dead woman. I need something from her,” I said. “I need some of the dirt from where she died too.”
“Something from her?” Meri asked.
“She had to have lost a hair out here,” I said as I stood near where the woman’s body had lain. “Some blood in the dirt would be good too, but I don’t know if she bled. I still don’t exactly know how she died. I just know she wasn’t stabbed.”
“You’re going to need to know that,” Meri said.
“I’ll text Thorn,” I said. “Can you start looking for a hair?”
“You’re the worst,” Meri groused.
“I know, but I still need a hair,” I said.
“Fine,” he relented and trotted over to look around under the tree for a strand of the dead woman’s hair.
I need details on the murder, I texted to Thorn.
I slid the phone into my pocket and helped Meri look for hairs. It really wasn’t a fun task looking for hair in grass when the sun wasn’t totally up yet, but we found one.
Once we had that, I ran back into the house and grabbed a white candle and a silver coin. I took the candle back outside and lit it on the spot where she’d lain.
“Spirit, I need your help,” I said and placed the coin next to the candle. “I humbly ask for your assistance.”
Out of my other pocket, I took a small glass jar with a metal lid. It was only large enough to hold a couple of tablespoons of dirt, but that was all I needed.
My dad pulled into the driveway as I capped the jar and put it back in my pocket. “So, are we doing this in the cemetery?” I asked as dad got out of his car. “Maybe we can set up near the family crypt.”
“I have something else in mind,” Dad said. “I know that you’re used to seeing necromancy as something dark to be performed in basements and graveyards, but I’m going to let you in on some secrets.”
“Oh, okay,” I said.
“Go inside and get dressed,” Dad said. “Wear something colorful but dress the baby in all black.”
“Ooohkaaay,” I said.
“Trust me, Kinsley,” Dad said. “Do you trust me?”
“Of course,” I answered. “I’ll be back down in a few minutes.”
I rushed through getting dressed. My mind reeled at what my dad could be up to. He knew things I didn’t, though. Things I could have known if I’d taken witchcraft seriously when I was younger instead of insisting that the last thing I wanted to be was a witch.
But that was the past, and I had the chance to learn. Dad would teach me, and we would pass it all down to Laney. Because I figured out from the moment she was born that the reason I had been so important to the Coven was so that I would become her mother. I wasn’t some sort of chosen one, but I was chosen to be her mom. Laney was the one who was truly something special.
After putting on a yellow sundress and cornflower blue cardigan, I dressed Laney in a black onesie, sweatpants, and socks. She had several black outfits, thanks to the Aunties, so I tucked them into her diaper bag.
Then I chuckled. I was packing a diaper bag to go with my father and practice necromancy. What an odd place to find myself in life…
But it had to be done. It wasn’t just that I needed to prove that Lilith had nothing to do with the woman’s death. In the back of my mind, I wondered if the dead woman had something to do with the magic reset. Had she done some sort of ritual, cast a powerful ancient spell, or summoned a demon to destroy our powers? I had to find out, and if she had, I would undo the damage.
No amount of normalcy was worth what was happening to Lilith. Plus, did I even want that anymore? Thorn had accept who I was, so shouldn’t I?
I hurried down the stairs and outside to find Dad still waiting by his car. “You could have come inside,” I said.
“We need to go where we are going while her energy is still tied to this side of reality,” Dad said. “And before your husband goes there to search.”
“Where are we going?” I asked.
“The ley line is amplified in the
